Health/Medicaid – House Committees May Markup Bill to Cap Medicaid and Repeal the ACA This Week

This week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Ways and Means Committee are each expected to begin markup of a bill that will fundamentally restructure the Medicaid program by altering the current federal/state partnership and cost reimbursement structure and replacing it with a per capita cap. This will significantly limit federal funding to the states now and into the future. In addition, the bill will begin the process of repealing major sections of the Affordable Care Act. These Committee markups are part of the budget reconciliation process which allows only certain revenue and spending provisions to be included. The Committee bills are expected to move quickly and be combined into one bill by the House Budget Committee. We understand that the plan is to have the bill ready for a vote by the full House of Representatives before the end of March. The Senate Majority Leader has indicated that he hopes to schedule a vote on the House bill before the mid-April recess. The bill development has been controversial because no official version is available for public review. The draft bill has been very closely held and some Members of Congress have publicly complained about not being able to obtain a copy of the bill. However, based on leaked earlier versions, The Arc believes that, if passed by the Congress, the legislative direction the House leadership is considering would have devastating impacts on people with disabilities and their families. The Arc will continue to convey our concerns about the impact of the repeal of the ACA and restructuring of Medicaid to Congress.